Clouded Judgment
by KeithLegend
Summary: Judy has to choose between love, and duty. Through tragic events, life spins out of control, causing Judy to question her life and her emotions.
1. Chapter 1

Welcome Back! Legend here with a short zootopia/zootropolis fanfiction. At the moment, this will be a single story, but I may expand it later.

The reason for writing this one is because I feel a lack of emotion, so this will be a killer on the feelings.

I do not own Disney or any of the characters in this story. All characters are a creation of Disney and their world Zootopia.

This story may feel really out of context in the start, so here is some prologue. Judy has been drugged and led to believe that Nick has committed a horrible crime.

Thanks for hanging in there guys, I have made a few changes, nothing major, they story just runs more smoothly, and some slight detail has been added.

Let's begin...

"Come on Judy, Snap out of it!" Cried Nick. "This isn't like you. Judy please, look at what you're doing. It's me, your Nick. Please, put the gun down, you're scaring me!"

Nicks voice quivered with fear, sobbing as he spoke. He stood, frozen in place, his feet cemented to the pavement, his hands outstretched in front of him. Just across from him was Judy. She held a gun in her hand, a standard issue, black steel, 9mm handgun. A bullet casing lay on the floor still smoking. Judy had fired off a warning shot, seizing the fox's attention.

Silence rang through the air.

Judy stood, shaking. The cold steel vibrating in her hand as she took her aim at Nick's chest. Her fur stood on end as ice flowed down her forehead in sweat.

Something was wrong, and she knew it, that much was transparent to her. Her mind wrestled with her body, her emotions destroyed her true feelings. Her love betrayed the truth set before her. Being a cop in her core, she had to stop the criminal, she was a slave to her duty; but she bound with caring love for the sly advisory.

She couldn't believe what he had done. The Intel she was provided stated that Nick was a drug lord, and the Popsicle stand was just a cover operation. He had 3 confirmed kills on his record.

None of it made since though, it wasn't the Nick she knew. The police department did a standard background check before hiring him, and after months of being with him, she hadn't noticed anything _. Why hadn't we noticed this before? Where did the Intel originate from?_ Questions and mixed emotions flooded Judy's mind.

"Judy... What's going on?" Nick voiced in a cracked whisper, the fear seemingly receding.

Her emotions battled for control, refusing her the ability to answer. But her tears spoke more than her words ever could. Through her self-destructing thoughts; tears of pain and devastation flourished.

Driven through concern, for his friend, for his love, Nick stepped forward.

"Judy... Whiskers, whatever they told you, it's not true. You know me; you know when I'm lying to you." His voice started to fail him. Nicks eyes tickled through sadness, fear ran rampant through his mind, his heart slowed; all resign for life was diminishing to the nothingness he once had been. Judy was his everything. Because of her, he had a resign to live. Without her, he had nothing.

Judy stared at her fiend, and her lover. As he closed the distance, she could hear his heart beat, she felt his emotions, his struggles, everything invaded her senses, they took her off guard and through the scraps of her drugged mind to the wind; then... she felt nothing.

Nick closed the gap between them. His heart beat rang in his ears; he felt nothing, no temperature, wind, or ground; only love.

Nobody heard it, nobody felt it. Nick held her against his body. He poured his heart out; he gave it his all, trying to make Judy feel his love one more time. His passion, his joy, his peace, everything he was. He drew himself into peace, refusing himself the leisure of his own feeling so she may feel again.

After what felt like an eternity in the hug, Nick began to feel things once more; he felt the cold black steel pushed against his ribs. The sharp steel hurt his side, but the passion of the embrace was too important, he had to remain focused on her. _"The pain will fade away."_ he told himself, but the pain didn't dull. His side began to burn; it grew warmer as the rest of him grew colder. He pulled Judy in closer, struggling to feel her presence.

Judy was shocked by the hug, but it set her over, it showed her the truth. She could feel his love, and knew he cared about her. Her eyes started to water. Her emotions were clear, she had betrayed him. Hugging him tighter, she felt his warm fur; it was hot, and wet.

Nick started to fall forward, but realizing Judy was there, he pulled back violently. He fell to the floor, smashing the back of his head on the floor as he fell. Nick didn't see stars or bunnies; instead, everything went black.

"Nick, oh God! Nick come back to me!" Judy wailed out with tears. "Nick, I'm so sorry!" Judy couldn't see. Her face was soaked with her tears, her nose rain wildly. Judy was furious; she could rip out her own heart. Her only love sat in her arms, bleeding out. She felt cold, her heart beat violently, her hands shook as she tried to stop the bleeding. Judy's fur was soaked in his hot blood.

"Judy...I'm sorry. I'm sorry I was never the person you thought I was." His voice grew weaker with every syllable he spoke; his face struggled to form a smile.

She put her hand underneath his head, lifting it gently so he could lean against her.

"No, your perfect Nick, you were everything I want and more! It was all a lie, the Intel was forged. Now stop talking, save your strength, we will make it through this." Judy's mind fell apart as she spoke; she tried to deny what she knew deep down.

"Nick, I love you, you need to pull through for me, for us." She pulled him in closer to her chest; tears ran down her face onto his head, wetting the dirty fur where his head hit the floor.

"Whiskers, I'm sorry. I love you and you are..."

Judy kissed Nick, refusing to let him speak his words of farewell. She couldn't lose him and she couldn't think straight. The warmth from his lips slowly faded, his grasp on her lips loosened. His head fell against her paw.

"Nick?"

No response, he was gone. Judy's lower lip trembled, she was speechless. She felt like she was hit in the gut, unable to draw a breath. Her body silently heaved from shock, her mind faded from all resin as she fought to control her emotions. As quickly as they started, the tears stopped, any resin to cry was gone.

The world felt gray and empty. Everything was surreal. She could no longer tell what was real, and what wasn't. Judy didn't feel anything, she couldn't feel anything.

Thanks for reading guys. I hope you enjoyed the emotions. I cried a few times while writing this one. I might wright another chapter, I don't know yet; let me know what you think. I appreciate your comments and reviews.


	2. Chapter 2

Alright guys, Legend here, and as requested, a second chapter. This story will be kept clean all the way through, so NO SEX! You dirty people.

Thanks you guys for the great reviews, I appreciate it.

I Do not own any of Disney or their creation of Zootopia. All characters are the property of Disney.

Without farther adu...

The soft pitter patter of the rain went unnoticed, the day was cloudy, and cast a natural gloomy tone. The room was gray and cold, but that too was nothing of note. The frigid glass of the window fogged up. The insulation in the room was weak, a small draft blew, causing a small whistle to be heard in the room every minute or so. The room smelled slightly. Articles of clothing were tossed in the corner; laundry hadn't been done for the past 3 days. The smell of dirt and sweat ran together, though, it wasn't a fresh soil smell, but an empty dust smell; the kind that makes one cough and sneeze. Food sat at a small desk, molding slowly and cold from sitting out for days. It was just a carrot and some celery, the carrot was glazed with honey and butter, all of which was seasoned with a bit of FoxPoint. The desk was littered with pens and papers. There was a gray lamp, covered with bunnies, but the bulb had burnt out, causing a black spot of carbon to form in the inside. The papers sat by morbidly without the light shining on them. Reports day's old gathered dust, as the letters sitting on the floor did the same. Luckily, the world hadn't stopped, the mail kept flowing, the weather kept changing, but for Judy, nothing had moved.

She sat on her bed, or the poor excuse of a bed. The cot like structure that held her was a jumble of cloth. Sheets were thrown about, and hung off the thin mattress onto the floor. Her pillow was ripped. It was a gift from Nick; he had left it when he stayed the night. He never bothered to collect it; instead, he used it as an excuse to randomly show up at her door. Judy didn't know how it came to be damaged; it could have happened when her apartment was searched, or she could have torn it in grief driven anger.

The funeral happened two days ago, and he had died 3 days before that. After news of the incident reached the authority's, she was immediately given time off. The police force felt sorry for her, and cared for her safety; that's what they had told her. They had taken all her weapons, and confiscated anything lethal form the apartment. But deep down, Judy knew that they just didn't want to have a mentally unstable bunny with them, didn't want a potential threat beside them.

When she had gotten home, she took a shower, cleaned the blood of her paws, and warmed up some dinner, though she wasn't hungry. She knew she had to take her mind off of what had transpired, but in trying to remove herself, she dug herself in deeper. Locking herself in her thoughts, her sadness. Her mind driving itself into self-blame and leading herself to believe she was the sole cause of the murder.

The rain slowly picked up, thunder rumbled in the distance. The wind has died down a little, causing the whistle to decrease pitch. Judy didn't hear the whistle or the vibrating window; she didn't feel the vibrations from the thunder. She couldn't feel the cold. For sitting in one place for days, she wasn't sore, hungry, or in need to relive herself. Her body had maintained a beautiful stasis in her enigma of grief and emptiness.

Another letter slid underneath the door, but it still went unnoticed. Judy was deep in thought.

For the first few hours of pain, she was drenched in her own tears, unable to form thoughts and words, nothing was perceivable. The first two days, Judy recalled everything she had done with Nick, every kiss he had given her, every time they had ate together, and everything they had said to each other. On the third day, she thought about getting revenge for the false info she was given, she had let it roll in her mind and rot in her core, she wanted revenge for everything, but that only lead to more suffering and tears. Her hate turned to sadness, she wasn't one to get revenge, and Nick wouldn't want that. For the last two days, her mind was blank...drifting through an endless void. She would start to tear up from time to time, but she couldn't figure out why.

Her phone buzzed, her eyes darted to it. She smiled faintly as she thought about him. The look he always had when he had looked at his phone. How he would tease her by looking at it instead of her. He would laugh at random times, or he would frown and say he was sorry for something that had happened. But her phone was only powering down, finally dying.

Death

Her phones death set her over the edge once more; memories of his death flooded her mind. She could see the look on his face; it was engraved into her memory. When she looked on her paws, they were stained in blood again. She started to sob once more. Begging for Nick to be back, crying for him to return. She craved to hug him again. She wanted to rip her heart out due to her undying grief. She clutched the closes thing to her, and chucked it against the wall. It was a glass cup. The item shattered on impact, putting a hole in the wall. Shards of glass were imbedded into the thin drywall with peeling paint, causing several tiny holes look large. As she gazed at the wall, everything seemed to go black.

When she finally woke up, she was in a hospital. An I.V. sat imbedded in her arm. The room was dark; a slow beep rang out in the silence bestowed by the rest of the room. It was as though the room was devoted to being silent so that the one sound could ring out in a piercing tone. The tone pitched almost perfectly to pierce the delicate ear. As she listened, the piercing beep got slower. On her left was a clock, and some other medical equipment. The clock was a standard alarm clock, they ripe you would see in any dull shopping center. The time read 2:43 AM. On her right was a window, and a table. On the table sat a vase of flowers, and a card. The front of the card was a picture of Judy and Nick. She smiled at seeing the photo. It was the photo she took right after Nick had kissed her for the first time.

In the corner of the room on the right was a chair, it was empty...

She had hardly noticed, but the beeping had stopped, and everything went black again.

Thanks for sticking thought this with me guys, it has been a lot of fun. Please give me feedback on the story, I do plan to add another few chapters, I have thought through most of the plot, it will get more exiting soon, a little revenge, a little love, and more hard core emotions. Our beloved Nick isn't done in this story... Not yet


	3. Chapter 3

Legend here and I have brought the third chapter! Thank you guys for the reviews and the questions, I love receiving them, and I do read them all, the all mean a lot to me.

Sorry about the delay in posting, I have been having tech problems and had to rewrite large portions of the chapter.

And for my normal disclaimer; I Do Not own any part of Disney or any character included in this fanfic. All characters at property of Disney's Zootopia.

And once more, we delve into our emotions...

Judy's eyes opened slowly, the weight of the nights rest refusing to pass away. The room was lit in the early morning sun; the suns warm blaze gave warmth to the room. Ribbons of light shown through the window. The shades on the window were adorned with bunnies and carrots, but the contraption did little to absorb or repel the sunlight. The window through the blinds were covered with a thin layer of dew, the energetic night world outside was washed away with a graceful shower, giving way to peaceful morning hours.

Judy peeled her blankets away to get out of bed and start the day.

"No, Not yet. Just five more minutes?" Behind her laid a fox, Nick. Nick pulled Judy closer against his chest, wrapping his arms around her waist, squeezing her tighter.

"Oh you sly fox, where did you come from?" Judy turned around in his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. In turn, he raised his head, and gave her a quick kiss." I've been here the entire time, whiskers!" An innocent look resembling that of a child was on his face.

"Fine, you sneak." Judy laid her head on his chest. His heart beat soothed her; Nick's soft fur was warm and welcoming. It reminded her of when she was young, lying with her parents and siblings. She loved him, and could always count on I'm to be there for her.

They laid together in each other's arms for what felt like an eternity, nothing mattered when they were together. Nobody could distract them from each other; they had all that they needed. A low rumbling could be heard in the distance, but Judy mistook it as Nick's stomach.

"Somebody getting hungry?" She inquired playfully. She loved to tease Nick, he ate different food than her and always had trouble eating whatever Judy had made. The problem wasn't Judy's cooking skills. She was a decent cook, but she cooked healthy food, which Nick didn't usually eat.

"Oh. Ya, but I'm fine. You don't need to make me anything." Judy smiled at his reply, kind and honest, trying his best not to hurt her feelings.

"I'll just put on some coffee." she kissed him as she rose. Coffee, a simple delicacy enjoyed by both her and Nick. Things were always happy when coffee was involved, and oddly enough, coffee was always there when they were happy.

The sweet smell of coffee flooded the room when Judy opened the shining bag, her nose twitched in excitement, the overpowering smell drawing Judy close to the bag, almost forcing her to taste the raw coffee.

Overcoming the tempting challenge, Judy poured in the coffee beans and the water into the coffee machine. As she pushed the button, Nick wrapped his arms around her. His head rested next to her head, on her sholder. His arms hung loosely around her, but they pulled him in against her body.

Nick had no shirt on, but like Judy, he had shorts on. Judy had a shirt on to accompany her shorts. Both articles of clothing were a light gray with no branding on them. She didn't remember much about last night, but the clothing made her feel like things didn't get too heated.

Looking around the room, Judy felt at ease. The apartment was always clean; it brought Judy a sense of joy. Her clothing was neatly hung or folded, nestled in the corner of the small closet that was by her apartment door. On the other side of the closet, adjacent to her closet door, sat a white door. The door was cracked open to allow visibility to the contents of the room. Judy's bathroom was scrubbed clean every Saturday, a weekly task which was grudgingly done. Towels were neatly folded and hung on the wall. Her towels were embroidered with little carrots, which were lined up perfectly along the edge of the towel. Judy took pride in her orderly fashion, something Nick would never understand.

Her desk was directly in front of her, next to the window. Files of reports for the Zootopia Police Station were stacked neatly on the corner of the desk, and her lamp was in the opposite corner. The window's light shown on the lamp majestically, lighting the shade to a point where it could shine. Her parents had sent her the wonderful lamp shade, it matched the shades on her window, both embellished with bunnies and carrots.

The apartment was a cheap one, the police department had chosen it for her and had payed for her first 6 months. She appreciated the kind gesture. The room had no carpet, just wood flooring, which needed a new layer of stain and sealant. Her walls came equipped with a layer of drywall, which was painted with a faint tan color. The coating of paint peeled in the corners of the room, and was cracked in the corners of the ceiling. The cracks snaked along the edges of the ceiling, connecting all the cracks together.

Life was beautiful; things were working out perfectly for Judy. Nothing could be missing, her dream had come true, and she had found the love of her life.

"So whiskers, "His voice snapping Judy back to reality, extracting her focus from the world, besetting it upon Nick, "What's the plan for today." The question sounded strange in her ears, his lips didn't match his words. Her face contorted into a questioning glance until realization of what he had said struck. "Oh, I just have to drop off those reports, and then I'm free for the rest of the day." She leaned into him in flirtatious way; his soft fur sent a chill down her back, only to be replaced with warmth in his arms.

"Judy? Hey Judy?" She looked around, trying to identify the the owner of the strange new voice.

"Judy, can I have the reports?" In front of her stood chef Bogo. His hand forward to her, his hands here clean and slightly wet. The moisture of water sat on his wrists as though he was rushed in drying his hands after using the utilities. The deep creases on his hands sat perfectly spaced, as though he had spent time perfecting them. He was angry, but the origin of his anger was unknown to her.

"Ya...ya, here you go chef. Sorry about that, I just got a little dizzy." The obvious lie unsettled her; it made her questions why she had lied. The true wasn't bad, just confusing, whatever the truth was. Deep down Judy didn't even know what the truth was, she just felt convicted, like she had committed a crime.

"Judy, are you ok?" Nick said, almost with a laugh. His voice shook her, it unnerved her. Seeing the effect of his question, Nick attempted to fix his wrong. "Hey whiskers, come here." She turned to Nick and embraced him. His body making her feel safe and secure. "What's going on? Are you alright?"

The passion and emotion in his voice went unnoticed. Judy's mind stuck on the words that drifted from his mouth almost effortlessly.

"What's going on?" Those words echoed endlessly in her mind. Her thoughts going void, only able to repeat those words. Something about those words shook her. They were important, like a missing puzzle peace, or the frustration from forgetting something, it drove her crazy. Her mind refusing to cooperate.

Grass brushed against her face, the warm earthy smell of soil filled her senses. The grass rose away from her as the sky came into view. It was warm and beautiful outside, few clouds could be seen in the deep blue sky. Blinding light of the sun warmed her fur as she was ripped away from its view. The ground once again met her face to face.

Laughter could be heard close by. The soft joyous chuckle of one truly enjoying themselves was unmistakable. Judy partook in the creation of the wonderful noise as she held on to the furry object in her arms.

Together they came to a halt at the bottom of the green slope, laughing In each other's embrace. Judy's thoughts and emotions were flooded with joy, she couldn't stop herself from laughing. The smooth voice next to her struggled to speak through his joyous laughter.

The two of them sat on the ground catching their breath. The afternoon sun surrounding them like a warm blanket. Nick rolled over, and looked into Judy's eyes. He reached down and caressed Judy's furry check as he kissed her. Her arms effortlessly moved around his neck.

Thunder boomed in the distance as a light rain began to fall. "Ugg!" Howled Nick "I guess it's time to head in." Nick picked Judy up in his arms as he ran to her apartment. The rain softly landing on their fur as he ran. Nick held Judy close to her body, He held her like a parent carrying their baby. The way he carried her allowed for little bounce to be noticed in his step.

By the time the two reached her apartment, the rain was thundering down. A slight draft blew through the room. The window whistled as the wind blew against the apartment. Cold air sat stagnant in the room as the two stood in front of the window, watching the rain. Judy wrapped her arm around Nick's side as he did the same to her. The soothing sound of rain setting a mood of peace and tranquility. Together they stood in silence. Judy pulled herself closer to Nick. His warm fur was addicting, drawing her in, consuming the cold of her body. Judy breathed a sigh of relief, the long day finally coming to a peaceful halt.

Suddenly, with a Thunderous boom, lighting struck the side of the apartment. The window shattered, sending glass into Judy's right arm and leg. Nick was blown back; shards of glass imbedded themselves in his right arm and leg, his front side held a dozen more shards. One shard flew past his face, shallowly cutting him as it went. Blood refused to run from the gash in his check. His fur outlined the pink cut; a thin line of white fat lined the base of the cut.

The wall to the outside world crumbled from the damage. Some debris was hurled into the room with the glass, the rest of it fall to the asphalt two stories below. Without the support from the wall, the floor gave way, cracks in the feeble wood webbed out and fell through the floor. Timbers and supports hung loose in the open air. Rain flooded into the room through the open wall.

Judy, stunned from the blast, struggled to gain comprehension of the situation. Her vision was blurred; her ears rang from the defining sound. The ground beneath her felt like water, refusing to support her. Through her dizziness, she located Nick. He laid against the dark wet wood of the desk, unconscious. Shards of glass sticking out of his arm. Judy crawled to her feet. The floor continued to crumble, separating the two lovers. Judy shuffled her way over to Nick, when the floor beneath her gave out. Her paws instantly shot up to grab some reminisce of hope. Her hand caught a rotten piece of wood that stuck out from the floor. The weak board cracked under her weight, struggling to hold her.

Tears flooded Judy's eyes; a sense of hopelessness ate into her heart and mind. Her paws were slick with water from the rain. It ran down her arm, her face soaked in tears and rain. Her mind couldn't process anything, each thought struggling to become comprehensible, and fell away into nothingness. Thoughts of hope and love fled her mind and were replaced with a familiar feeling of intense loss, aided by the consuming emptiness of loneliness. The wood in her paw bent further, weakening in the rain and Judy's weight. Her heart cracked as the board did the same. The brief feeling of weightlessness brought peace to Judy. Everything went silent, her mind stopped thinking, everything went luke warm. Nothing mattered. Everything was over. Judy froze in the moment, adoring the peace until Nick caught her. She swung in his paw, barely holding onto him.

Nicks arms screamed out in pain as he struggled to pull her up. He had reached out with his injured arm, the glass pieces dug deeper into his side as he laid on them. The cuts down his arm widened as he held Judy, glass cut his arm deeper, pouring rain soaked blood down his arm. Everything in his being told him to let her go. He screamed out in agony, his body refused to work with him. Thoughts of losing her, thoughts of love drew him forward. His compassion and concern overcame his body and forced him to pull her up. Muscles ripped in his arms as he slowly lifted her, his hold on her weakened as she got higher. As Judy placed her hand on the boards, they gave out. Together the fell through the floor, the world dissipated as the fell. Buildings and roads crumbled and faded away into darkness. Judy fell past where the road should have been, landing on her feet.

"Something was wrong, and she knew it"

A 9mm shell rolled on the asphalt, smoke rose from the warm shell. As the smoke rose, it refused to dissipate into the air around it. In watching the strange smoke, something caught her peripheral vison. Stealing her view from the smoke, she gazed at the object in her outstretched hands. The black painted steel of a standard 9mm police pistol dripped with rain water. The riveted handle sat smoothly in her hand as rain poured down her arm. The rain was warm on the cold night, it fell hard coating everything like a blanket, but the rain was inaudible. On the back of the handgun, the hammer was pulled back; ready to strike the firing pin. A bullet sat in front of the pin, set to fire another deadly shot at her adversary.

Her adversary, her target, her foe. Judy ripped her gaze from the oddly familiar weapon to the object in front of her. A fox stood before her, his paws outstretched toward her, shaking in fear.

Realization hit Judy like a bullet hitting a bullet proof vest. The breath was forced from her lungs in shear shock of the situation. She remembered all that had happened, all that she had done. She remembered his death.

Throwing her weapon down, she sprinted to Nicks arms. She buried her head in his chest, tears poured down her face. Her hear ripped apart in pain from losing Nick, aching for this to be real, begging him to stay real. Nick wrapped his arms around Judy, pulling her against his warm body, rubbing her back as she sobbed. He lowered his face to her forehead; her wet fur tickled his lips as he kissed her. Her heart beat pounded against his chest, his heart beat on the offbeat of hers. Judy struggled to breathe in while Nick moved his hands to her shoulders. He held her at arm's length way. His gaze met hers, her beautiful purple bled into his heart.

"Hey, Whiskers? What's going on, what are you doing?" His smooth soothing voice sounded empty and far away, but his face showed compassion and love.

Nick removed his arms from her shoulders and slowly walked backwards. The rain fell down heavily as he backed away. The world got colder, and darker. Everything around them dissipated and crumbled away until it was just them standing in the alleyway. Lightning stuck in the distance, but the thunder went unheard. Judy reached forward for Nick, her feet couldn't move, she was stuck in place. Her emotions fell apart, tears swelled up in her eyes. Her heart ached to hold Nick again, but gone was the love that was so sweet.

Lightning ripped through her body, its arks coiled around her. She screamed out in agony at the horrible torcher that had befallen her. Light flashed around her, the electricity consumed her. Her fur burned as it stood on end from the powerful charge flowing through her. Her heart burst to life from the jolt of energy.

Judy bolted up in the hospital bed, sucking air into her empty lungs. Her chest burned from the electric jolts that ran through her body. Her lungs ached as sweet air filled them, soothing the depleted cavity. The room around her was blue, with a tint of green lighting illuminating all that were in its rays. All around her stood doctors and nurses, each a different animal. Two polar bears held a defibrillator, a bunny read vital signs on a screen, and a jaguar stood close by with an oxygen mask.

Heavy footsteps sounded behind her, a massive weight was placed on her shoulder. Looking down, Judy saw the paw of a large animal. Fallowing the arm to the face, Judy was struck with fright. He was smiling at her; his face had nothing but complete joy in seeing her. Chef Bogo looked Judy straight in the eye. His eyes tore into her soul. It felt as though it ripped right through her, as thought it could see all her secrets, but that wasn't what scared her. What caused her fright were the tears in Chef Bogos eyes. He never cried, it was unnatural.

His soft words sent chills down her spine.

"Judy… We thought we lost you!"

Again, sorry about the delay. The next chapter will also be late. I had originally planned to combine the two chapters, but this one already quit large. I hope I joyed my writing, please leave a comment or a question. This chapter can be a little confusing. Thanks!


	4. Chapter 4

Clouded Judgment Ch 4

Hey guys, Legend here. I want to start out with an apology; I am way behind in posting. I have solved all of my Technology problems, but that took too long. Finals for school are next week, so I have been studying like crazy. I hope to have the next chapter out by Friday, but that might be pushing it too much. I have a lot planed for you guys!

Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia or any of the characters in this fanfiction. All characters are property of Disney.

Z***Z

The distant winds brushing calmly through the trees of the mountains couldn't be heard for miles around. Silence rested in its own tranquility; bring tranquil peace to those who could hear its silent whisper.

The defining silence passed unnoticed to Judy as she sat watching the water fountain drip. The bottom of the drain pipe had a crack in it, a thin incision caused by years of erosion. Each drop calmed her; the soft plop of water into the puddle beneath, echoed her heart beat. The warm blood in her veins surged peacefully through her cold body. Calm had finally made its way into her mind. Her soul sat still and empty in the depths of thought. Minutes ticked by like hours, and still she sat in her chair.

Z***Z

She had met with a psychiatrist; his office was a small quiet place. It felt more like a home insisted of the cold doctor offices she was used to. The psychiatrist was a mole. His age clearly shown by his fur, glasses sat on the bridge of his nose. Thin frames circled the glass completely, the bars disappearing in the fur on the sides of his head. He moved about the room quickly, as though he was in the prime of his life. The mole was the most referred physician by the police force. He was a veteran; in his past he had served on the wild plans in the Wild Recovery Core (WRC). Their main mission is to integrate wild animals into society, which is understandably, a very dangerous job. His experience in the field allowed him to understand solders and wild animals. These experiences allowed him to understand the key symptoms of traumatized police officers.

His questions were the kind that would make one think, they were emotional and random, it was apparent he was extraction information on a deeper level, working the information out for himself so that the truth could not be distorted.

Through the intense questioning, Judy remained monotone. Her life seemed to have no meaning which made it easy for her to appear sane to the psychiatrist.

Through the process, the mole wrote many notes, much more than what she had told him. These notes were then delivered to Chief Bogo.

Z***Z

After being released from the hospital ward, she was taken to police department. The day was beautiful, but she had spent only a few minutes of it outside, the rest she had spent at her office desk. The desk adjacent to hers was empty. It used to be workspace of a sly vixen. An animal she had gotten to know very well. The desk still held his addicting aroma, the shadow of his presence. That vixen was a fox, Nick. He was her partner and so much more. It was by painful agony that she persisted to reside next to his desk. To forget Nick was to forget who she was. Nick was her everything, she had given him her all. Yet in return, he was only sweet to her, as she shot him in cold blood… blood that was not her own at the time. It was by this pain that she found resin to live.

After a week of desk work, Judy had recovered from the accident. She craved for action, her muscles ached for field work, but her mind shook in fear. The aspect of returning to the outside word unnerved her. But after all that had happened, she knew she had to get out, and get back to work or else she would never fully recover.

Z***Z

"Judy, I have called you here because we have received sensitive information regarding the murder of Officer Wild." Chief Bogo's voice boomed, snapping Judy's empty focus away from the puddle. Her gaze shot at him, the light gleamed in her eyes. Her gaze was dark and happy, almost borderline mischvious, sending chills down ones spine, breaching out and rooting the freeze to your core.

Shaking off the strange glance, he continued. "An anonymous source has come forward with detail about the drug. It appears that the drug's name is Cyclone and, as you know, it twists your thoughts and makes you question reality. Some people have reported cases of hallucinating people, events, and even changing who they think they are. But we don't know who created Cyclone. What we do know is how and where you were drugged. We approached the owner of the building and found he had rented it out to a Cheetah, Mr. Curtis White… He doesn't exist."

The chief's composer slowly faded. His tough military appearance dwindled to that of a broken father having to except a horrible truth. Reaching around the table, he dragged a chair to the front of the table and sat down to speak to Judy on the same level. "Judy, I hate to ask you this, but, I need you to go back to the hanger and search for evidence, anything that could give us a lead on finding who drugged you. If you don't want this task, then I will send in a group, but I wanted to give you the choice."

"Yes, I'll do it." Her reply was quick and eager, too eager. "And I don't want anybody with me, I want to do this alone." The added statement continued to damage her sweet appearance.

"Right then," his words were quick and rough, her replies caught him off guard. "Well, you know where the armory is. Take only what you need. We don't know what you will be walking into, so… bring an extra clip."

The last remark, his last words made her question her decided to take this job, the necessity to bring a gun was unwarranted. Judy's mind raced with questions. _"Why bring a gun? What isn't he telling me? What is going on?"_

She hopped out of her chair and made her way to the armory. The puddle of water had halted forming; the pipe stopped its relentless pursuit to drop water. Through the doors of the office room was a hall to the garage and the armory. The room looked foreboding, like a hospital's halls at night, the icy tiles of the floor shown with a dull shine, the floor looked like it had never been waxed. Breathing in the hallway was stuffy, oxygen refused to make its way into her lungs; its chill caused her to breathe sharply. Gray blue walls lined the hallway; the cool natural color only accented the chill of the room. Light sockets were fitted with white lightbulbs instead of the warm orange bulbs that would be used in a house. One light was shot out due to a misfire during gun safety with Nick. The first door on the right was the Armory, opposite that was the garage. The armory door was solid metal with a small barbed window at the top. The glass in the window had a hole the size of a 9 mm bullet, cracks webbed out from the epicenter.

Pushing passed the heavy door, Judy was flooded with warmth. The armory was set up to support basic needs for 2 weeks. It doubled as a temporary shelter. A heater was installed in the room along with a generator to power up any utility's they might need incase they had to barricade themselves inside and couldn't get to the backup generator. The backside of the door to the room had large silver bolts lining the frame work; three large bars taped with caution tap were propped against the wall and could be slid into groove lining the door. In the back of the room was a door similar to the first, but behind that door was a fully equipped bathroom. Cupboards lined the back wall along the heater and generator, inside of the cupboards were cans of food. The remaining side walls were lined with weapon racks and ammo containers, two columns of shelfs ran down the center of the room. The foundations of the shelfs were made of aluminum alloy, the backs of the shelfs were pure tungsten, 3 inches thick, rated at level 4, which could stop most rifle rounds. The center shelves held body armor of different brands and different levels. Underneath the body armor were cabinets full of replacement plates. Across from the body armor was the big guns. An RPG sat at the front of the racks, followed by a single .50 cal. Rifle. The rest of the wall was hung with different guns ranging from AK57's to Phimoses to Battle Rifles. Below the guns were drawers of ammo and mags that fit their respective guns. On the far left column were rows of smaller guns ranging from 22s with silencers to 9 mm, to revolvers equipped with 32 special to .50 cal. Receivers. An Uzi sat in the back of the row; it had been confiscated from a bust 30 years ago. Below each gun were its respective clip and its default ammo size. Mods lined the other side of the wall along with ammunition for a different receiver. Along the far right column were shotguns, riot shields, and helmets. Replacement visors sat beneath the helmets. Beaten and battered riot shields laid out for repair. There bottom half faded to black to hide the torso and legs of the officer. Shotgun shells lay out. Red, blue, and white shells were scattered on the floor, the white shell held bird shot, the red held buck shot, and the blue held rubber slugs; the fashion of the shells made it apparent that somebody grabbed some in a rush. On the opposing wall to the shotguns and shields sat an array of grenades. Frag grenades and flashbangs filled the majority of the wall; C4 had its own section, locked off by Chief Bogo. A variety of equipment was hung along the rest of the wall. The pieces were used to make custom bombs. Wires were strewn around, blast pins were piled together neatly, and excess chemicals were safely stored in locked cupboards. Most of the weapons were black, some had skins placed on them and others were chrome finished.

Judy breathed in deeply, the warm room felt like home. Oxygen could finally reach her lungs again; it revived her senses and allowed her to think clearly. Based off of what the chief told her, and off of what he didn't tell her, Judy decided she would walk the halls and pick out what she felt would be necessary.

She strolled the room like it was a shopping center. Her first aisle to go down was the center one. Her paws sweat with anticipation as she passed the .50 Cal, she had always craved to feel its power, "But that would have to wait for another day" she told herself. She turned around and gazed at the body armor.

"Alright, this isn't a big dangerous Opp, so a level 2 will suffice." She grabbed a small vest and removed a level 2 plate from the wall, inserting it into the vest, and putting the vest on. It fit smugly and was warm from being in the heated room for so long. Next, she walked down the shotgun aisle. The grenades seemed to call to her, begging to be let off, but she walked onward until she reached the pile of shells. Stooping down, she grabbed a white birdshot shell and placed it in her vest out of habit. "Oh Nick, you never could tell the difference in shells, but in your defense, their not all the same."

The riot shields glared at her, one particular one caught her attention. The plastic in the shield was heavily damaged, the top left corner was ripped off, and a hole sat in the center of the shield.

Z***Z

A week before the accident occurred, they were out on a raid. It was a standard night raid; Judy and Nick were assigned to bring in suspect. The intel suggested that he had been selling weapons illegally. Earlier that day, the police force had searched his house and found it clean of weapons. So Judy and Nick were instructed to make the arrest at his residence.

The house was in a secluded location, trees lined the street up to the house. The house itself looked like a shack; the walls looked like they could fall down any moment. Rotting wood held the porch up. Tin roofing sheets made up a large portion of the house, the other portion of the roof was covered on heavy porcelain tiles. The weight of the tiles could have knocked down the house on its own, making it obvious to them that the house was reinforced, and the shack look was just a cover up.

Together the approached the house. Judy was in a vest with a level 3 plate, she carried a modified 9mm pistol. The iron sites had been removed from the handgun, a flashlight was attached to the bottom rails and an acog site on the top rails. Nick, on the other hand, had a gut feeling that something was wrong. He approached in a level 3 bullet proof vest, a riot shield, and a revolver chambered in .50 cal.

Together they approached the dreary shack. Judy whispered to Nick. "Hey, I'm going around the back to check things out. Cover the front."

"Alright, I'll see if anyone is home." His voice unconcerned and carefree. Something that Judy admired about him.

As she disappeared around the corner of the house, Nick climbed the steps of the porch. Upon reaching the top, the door burst open in a hail of wood and metal. Shards of wood beat into Nick as bird shot weakly showered his body; wood dust sprayed his eyes, blinding him. The metal had lost too much power going through the door to do any real damage to him. Moments later, Nick had his shield up in front of him; he backed down one step of the porch and placed the bottom of the riot shield on the floor of the porch. Birdshot continued to shower his shield as he struggled to clear his vison of the saw dust.

The assailant continued his pursuit for the cop. Shell after shell spread from his shotgun. After 5 shots, the gun ran out of ammo. Nick cleared his vision and looked through the deformed and damaged plastic of his riot shield, his assailant was an ape, a cigar hung from his mouth, and an Uzi hung on his side. The ape had a pouch on his side, from which, he rapidly pulled shells out of too place in his gun. White shell after white shell was filled into his gun; the 6th shell was blue shell. Due to his training, Nick knew the whites were bird shot, and the blue was a rubber slug, the perfect chance to stop his enemy was when he fired that shot.

Bird shot continued its raining fury upon Nick as he stumbled forward. Each shot pushed him back, the power of the shotgun could strike fear into anyone's heart. The riot shield continued to stand against the relentless beating as cracks formed, upon the forth barrage of buck shot, a large crack appeared down the center of the shield. The fifth shot did little to expand the crack.

Here was his chance, the rubber slug was next. Nick closed the distance between the two of them to 3 feet, when the final shot rang out, Nick had lowered the riot shield slightly, the shot smashed into the top left corner of the shield, pushing him back, throwing him off balance. The corner was completely gone. Nick had judged wrong, the final shot was buck shot instead of the rubber slug, a note he would have to look at later.

Regaining his balance, Nick glared at the ape through his riot shield, the ape through down his gun and rushed toward Nick, without thinking, Nick ripped his revolver from his holster and fired. The .50 cal. bullet rammed through the darkened bottom side of the riot shield, the plastic was no match for a bullet that size. The shield was ripped from Nicks arm by the blow, dislocating his shoulder as it was thrusted toward the ape. The ape didn't stand a chance; he was dead before he knew it. The .50 cal. bullet cut through his strong chest muscles, shattered his ribs, ripped through his spinal cord, and tore out a vertebral from his spine. Shards of plastic then embedded themselves into his chest, followed by the riot shield that landed on his corps.

Smoke from the cigar lifted comely into the air from beneath the shield.

Judy spirited through the doorway of the shack, her handgun was drawn as she scanned the aria for other assailants. Once she was sure the aria was clear, she ran to Nick. Her hands moved softy to the injured places on his body, coming to rest on his shoulder. She ripped her hands together, extracting a large pop from Nicks shoulder fallowed by blood curdling shout and some choice language.

Z***Z

Lifting herself from the ground, her mind raced through those events. Her heart fluttered to her throat through the exciting memories. The fear of the unknown condition of Nick ached in her mind.

She continued down the hall with her disturbed thoughts, turning the corner, entering the far left row of weapons and mods. The black paint glared in the light from the ceiling. Each gun was nicely polished and repaired after each use in the field, scratches were scuffed off and a new layer of paint applied. Guns gathered dust from years of neglect.

Judy strutted over to a line of 10mm handguns. She picked one up, it was heaver then it looked. Checking the clip, she found that its previous user had forgotten to remove the ammunition after using it. She gently placed the clip in the drawer below the guns, and extracting an empty clip from the same drawer, inserting it with a click. She then pulled back on the slide, exposing the clip from the top of the gun. A bullet popped out of the receiver which Judy quickly snatched out of the air and placed on a box of ammo in the drawer.

The device was then placed back on the shelf, its power and accuracy wasn't something she had become accustom to yet. Continuing her stroll down the aisle, she came across a desert eagle chambered in .50 cal. She removed the awesome weapon from its rest. Holding the gun in both hands, she gazed down the sigh. The powerful devise had neon dot iron sites. She had become accustom to using this handgun after months of practice. It was too heavy for her to hold in one hand, but she was a crack shot with it. Her records showed she could hit a dime at 100 meters, but with the mods that are currently equipped, she wouldn't try to shoot past 50 meters. Gently placing the weapon back in its spot, she grabbed a black 9mm handgun.

As her fingers brushed against the weapon, she receded away. Memory's flooded her mind, the shadow of tears formed in her eyes. Remembering that day back in the ally, the reality of what she had done slapped her in the face. It struck her core with dread.

Reaching forward again, she grasped the weapon and glared at it. The steel was cold to the touch, even more present in the warm room. The smell of death hung in the air around her. The feeling of emptiness proceeded to invade her mind.

After acquiring 2 clips from the draw beneath the gun, she grabbed a box of 9mm hollow points, placing them on the counter behind her where she would equip mods to her gun. She removed a flashlight from the wall and placed it by her ammunition box. Scanning the wall for other useful mods, her eyes rested on the extended clips. Shaking the idea from her head, she got to work. The clips were light in her hand, they looked so harmless. She opened the box of ammo; the glint of light was cast in her eyes from the polished brass casings. Selecting a bullet from the case, she examined the odd shape of the bullet. As the name suggests, the point was removed, and looked like a mess of melted metal, with a dividing in the center. The removal of the point made the bullet useless against armor, but against flesh, the missing point would allow the bullet to catch the body and rip through instead of slide smoothly through. Hollow points were deadly shots to unarmored opponents.

After filling the clips, sliding on the flashlight attachment, and turning on the safety, she returned the opened box to the drawer, holstered her pistol, and left the warm room.

She didn't notice the cold air of the hallway as she walked across the way to the garage. Inside of the garage was a booth surrounded by bullet proof glass. Behind the glass was a jaguar, his black fur shined in the light. He was the key keeper, keeping sock of the keys and the vehicles. Whenever a vehicle had a problem, he was the guy to go to.

"Hey Jeg, I need bike." Judy's voice was full of cheer and excitement.

"Judy Judy Judy, you know you're not allowed to drive one, you still need to pass your test!" his voice full of laughter. Judy always tried to pull that stunt with him. "But, I can provide you a car. The Chief had me prepare one for you."

"Oh Thanks Jeg! You're the best." Judy snatched the keys from the counter where Jed had placed them.

The car was a small police car. It wasn't equipped to make arrests, only to patrol and survey the aria. Due to its nature, the car didn't need the police logo or any branding; instead, it was painted silver. The seats were the default leather seats that other police cars had, the dashboard was fully equipped to support laptops and other equipment, but the cameras, speed gun, and sirens were removed, giving the interior the faint image of a regular two seater car.

Judy sat in the seat and started the car; the engine roared to life, the engine of the car had been modified to chase down sports cars. The sound of this engine put their engines to shame.

Judy flashed a smug grin, the power beneath her hands shook her body, it begged to be unleashed to the wild world. The garage door rose at a snail's pace, taunting her as it went, teasing her, driving in the fact that it was the only thing in her way. As soon as the door was high enough, Judy gunned the engine, screaming out as she flew out of the garage.

Z***Z

**Thanks for all your support guys! I look forward to the end, I'm very excited. Feel free to ask questions or comment you opinions. I enjoy the cretic. Thanks!**


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